


Strength of Knowledge

by flinchflower



Series: Slash Me Twice [87]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: End Game, Hunting, M/M, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond, Visions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-31
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-31 00:28:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1025191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flinchflower/pseuds/flinchflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt 87: Phoenix.  Sam's vision shows him that it's starting - the final showdown, the endgame.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strength of Knowledge

**Author's Note:**

> Copyright notice: I hold the copyright for Mistress Tess & Tessera, original characters, and multiple storylines associated with her. Someday (hopefully sooner than later) you'll see her in a series of novels, I ask that at this time others refrain from use of the character or venue without express permission. She is allowed to play in fanfic, I just request that I know about it. Frankly, I hesitate to post any of the fics with her in them, it's always a struggle... but... here we are.

They’ve been at Tessera for days and days, planning, endlessly planning, conferencing calls in with Caleb, Bobby, Ellen, other hunters; meeting in secure chat rooms that Ash sets up. There's more information on this damn demon than ever, and John’s got a heavy feeling that he recognizes. Showdown. It’s on it’s way, signed, sealed, and delivered by the king of hell himself, likely.

Sam’s spent hours hunched over the laptop, Dean’s spent hours with the weapons, keeping Sam company, letting Sam bounce ideas off of him, getting the boy to talk over what he was turning up. John got the idea that Sam’d been getting irritated with having to explain everything he’d been reading to John, kid had been hinting darkly at getting John a laptop of his own – John shuddered. Perish the thought. Dean had been playing liaison, and quite well, John thought, though one of these times he meant to tell the kid that it wasn’t necessary to bring over a knife or a gun for John to look over every time he brought over new information

Missouri’s taken to spending time with Mathieu, surprisingly enough. Says the man is restful, and all Mathieu does when John fishes for info is wink. Maybe he’s not as gay as he lets on. Sam had asked the same damn question once, and Dean had swatted the kid and told him to mind his manners. John had been disappointed, he’d been curious too, but he wasn’t about to countermand Dean’s authority.

Amusingly enough, Sam occasionally went running to John for comfort after enduring a scolding from Dean. John hadn’t quite been sure what way to jump on that one, until he overheard one of the arguments. He wouldn’t have swatted his baby boy for some of the things Dean did. The boys had a different relationship with one another, though, so after that John let Sam slink up to him and beg for attention, gave it to him, just relaxed and enjoyed the time with his boy, and smirked at Dean when the older boy shook his head. Dean knew what that meant. Payback for the thousands of times Dean’d done the same after John was done scolding Sam.

John’s impatiently waiting for a call from Bobby when he sees his youngest boy freeze in place, a stillness settle over him that makes the hairs on the back of John’s neck stand up.

Sam stands.

“I,” he says calmly, “am about to have another damn vision. I’d appreciate some assistance, I need to see this.”

They all stare at him dumbly for a moment, then Tess slips out to gather up Missouri and Mathieu, and part of John’s brain curses the lost opportunity to find out what’s behind that closed door. He lays his journal aside, puts a hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“Down you go,” he says in what he hopes is a calm tone, and guides Sam to the floor, where the boy chooses to kneel.

“Need you n’ Dean behind me,” he mumbles, eyes trained on something that really isn’t there. He’s described the visions, after all the training to control them, as beginning something like a migraine aura does. Flashes of light, sometimes with images burned into them, like you see a shadow of the sun against your eyelids if you look at it too long. He’s gotten good enough that he can prevent it from happening, perfected the technique of not leaving himself psychically vulnerable while it’s going on. But he still insists on everyone’s help, and John has no objection. Demon’s unpredictable. Caution’s better. 

Missouri & Mathieu come back with Tess as Dean and John position themselves, and John checks for the blank look Dean gets when he’s concentrating, meditating, before he lets himself slip under. The rest will do what they can.

It isn’t long before Sam’s back is arching, and he and Dean are supporting the boy. They haven’t found a way to make this less painful, Missouri has just shaken her head when John asks. Mathieu’s had more technical explainations, but the basic of the matter is, Sam’s in pain, and will be after. John locks his mind onto the puzzle of a maze, blocks out the sounds of his son in pain. There’ll be time enough, after.

Tess has a notebook out, writing down everything that’s said. It’s helped, before. She has a hard time watching the young man, the nursing training is screaming through her blood, shouting that he’s having a seizure, and needs medical attention. The only attention he’s going to need is help stopping a nosebleed, if it goes on for too long, and to get something in him, water, tea, anything.

Missouri and Mathieu are busy, and it’s now apparent why they’ve spent time together, at least to Tess, because nobody sets up ritual space that fast and with deference to the pastor presence without practice. The air around Sam is practically crackling, and the two men holding him are barely able to restrain him, there’s blood coming from his nose, and Tess thinks maybe his eyes, too, but that’s probably just through the sinuses, she thinks, and then she’s on her knees on the floor beside the boy, praying for it to stop soon, because she’s ready for it when it does.

She doesn’t get a chance though, because as soon as the seizure stops, Sam’s pushing his brother and father away. His eyes are blazing, and he looks like the wrath of God, the look he gives Tess keeps her from touching him.

He stands. It’s slow, deliberate, and the only reason they see him waver is that they know him well. He looks, she thinks, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, because the shy boy she knows, the one who’s hurt and tentative, and not sure of his place in the family, it’s gone from his face. The pain is there, but there’s a surety in his eyes, a surety that goes deeper than the anger.

John and Dean scramble to their feet, and Missouri and Mathieu are closing down the ritual space as Jim blesses the room, the people, and the boy. A soft light shines in Sam’s eye as Jim finishes the blessing, and he speaks slowly, carefully.

“Point, set, game, match,” he says.

“A little cryptic, Sammy.”

“Demon, crypt, Colt, US,” he replies, and John knows he’s right. They’re here. Sam knows the details, has seen the outcome. Now, they just need to be prepared.

**Author's Note:**

> Soundtrack: Queensryche - Silent Lucidity


End file.
